1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a circuit for driving the gate of a MOSFET or IGBT, and more particularly to an integrated gate driver output stage with a bias circuit which provides a high and wide operating voltage range.
2. Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a conventional CMOS push-pull output stage comprising MOSFETs M100 and M200 for driving the gate of a discrete MOSFET or IGBT.
FIG. 2 shows a conventional NMOS totem pole output stage comprising MOSFETs M100′ and M200 for driving the gate of a discrete MOSFET or IGBT.
The maximum operating voltages of the circuits in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are determined by the respective voltage differences between the drain and source nodes of M100 and M200, or M100′ and M200. If the voltage difference across one of these MOSFETs is higher than the maximum drain-source breakdown voltage of the IC device, breakdown occurs, causing the output driver to lose its functionality.